


Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

by wolfie_winchester



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bunker Fluff, Christmas, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 10:12:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2847287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfie_winchester/pseuds/wolfie_winchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world may be ending, but that doesn't mean Sam and Dean can't take a breather and invite everyone over for Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Sam eyes an empty space on the floor of the library thoughtfully. He glances up at the high ceiling and then mentally measures the space and its distance from the wall and the bookshelves. He nods to himself, going to pull on his coat and deciding it’s time for a trip. Dean and Cas are away on a supply run and he figures it’s an excellent time to put his plan into motion. He knocks on Kevin’s door and hears the game inside being paused before the door creaks open.

 

“Hey Sam,” he says.

 

“Did you wanna go get a tree?”

 

“What?”

 

“A Christmas tree!”

 

Kevin looks at him like he’s gone crazy, but eventually he smiles.

 

“Give me a second.”

 

A few minutes later, they’re climbing into Cas’ car and driving to the nearest tree farm they can find. There’s a whole bunch of them, all of different species and sizes. Some of them are so tall that even Sam would have a hard time putting a tree topper on it. He finds one that should fit into that empty space and asks Kevin’s opinion.

 

The young prophet brushes his hand against the branches, knocking the light dusting of snow from them. He smiles and looks up at Sam.

 

“It’s perfect.”

 

Once they’ve cut the tree down and secured it to the car, they head back to the bunker. And after rummaging through enough stuff, Sam comes across a box of ornaments. Most of them are the generic bauble type, a few flimsy snowflakes thrown in for good effect. There’s a tangle of Christmas lights inside that he needs Kevin’s help to undo and they wrap them around the tree and plug them in. The rest of the ornaments though, he leaves sitting on the table in their box. He wants to wait for Dean and Cas to return before they fully decorate it.

 

Almost an hour later, the door opens and he hears Dean and Cas’ voices as they descend the stairs.

 

“No, Cas. Who’s on first and what’s on second,” Dean says exasperatedly, but he’s smiling as he does so, clearly not as annoyed as he’s acting. He pauses when he sees the tree there, wondering what’s going on now.

 

“Hey guys, what’s with the tree?” he asks. He looks over to the table and sees the box. “And the ornaments?”

 

“It’s Christmas soon,” Sam offers as an explanation.

 

They haven’t really celebrated since the year before Dean went to Hell. While he loved spiking the eggnog and watching the game with Dean, his family has grown now and it only seems right to incorporate all of them. He’d called Charlie a little while before the other two came home - apparently Oz somehow has cell reception, which Sam isn’t going to try and figure out how that works - and asked her to come celebrate. Charlie, of course, had wholeheartedly agreed and asked if she could bring Dorothy along too, to which Sam had said yes. Garth had been more than happy to oblige as well and luckily, the lunar cycle won’t put a damper on things this Christmas. He wanted to know if he could bring his wife and her family and Sam had been hesitant at first. Garth is family, that much he knows and the last time they’d met, he realized that Garth’s new pack wasn’t as bad as he’d expected. After a bit of internal deliberation, he’d agreed and just crossed his fingers, hoping that Dean would be okay with having a family of werewolves over for Christmas. Jody had called of her own accord, practically inviting herself over, much to Sam’s amusement. He hasn’t seen her or Alex in a while and he’s looking forward to them dropping by for the holidays. If things go according to plan, they’re going to finally get to use those spare rooms in the bunker.

 

“I waited until you got here so we could decorate it,” he adds.

 

Dean stares at the tree and then at Sam before a huge smile breaks out onto his face. He grabs Sam and pulls him into a rough hug, patting him on the back.

 

“Thanks, Sam.”

 

They spend a while decorating the tree. Dean hangs up some tinsel that he found in the box and finds a custom made Men of Letters ornament. He gestures at it with a ‘hey isn’t this cool?’ look and hangs it towards the top of the tree. Before long, the tree is covered in decorations and lights.

 

“You know, it doesn’t look half bad,” Dean says, hands on his hips as he observes their work, giving it a nod.

 

“You know, this is the first Christmas I’ve had since I became a prophet,” Kevin says quietly. Sam, Dean, and Cas all look at him with a look of sympathy and a little bit of guilt. He only smiles at them, shaking his head to dispel the sad thoughts.

 

“Hey, it’s fine, guys. This is perfect. I get to spend time with my family, what more could I ask for?”

~~~~~

The four of them spend the next few days cooking. Dean helps Cas bake some cookies and pie and other desserts that they’ll be eating during the holiday. One night, he goes to his room and pulls out a box from under his bed. He opens the lid and carefully moves the pictures of John and Mary aside so he can pull out a small notebook. It’s worn with age and there are thin sticky notes poking out of the top. He opens it up and smiles as he reads his mom’s cursive handwriting, closing his eyes and imagining that he can smell her cooking Christmas dinner, hearing her hum as she bustled around in the kitchen. His heart aches with a sudden sense of homesickness before he mentally shakes himself and thinks, _no, this is home now_. He grins and takes the old cookbook into the kitchen, rummaging around in the cupboards that he and Cas just stocked, making sure he remembered to get the ingredients, since he’s had this in mind for a while now.

 

He’s a little bit surprised when Garth and his pack show up, but as long as they don’t eat anyone, he’ll be fine. Garth trusts them anyway, loves them and that’s good enough in Dean’s book. Charlie shows up around the same time with Dorothy and he’s not at all shocked to see them holding hands and occasionally kissing. He sees Garth with his wife, both of them sitting on one of the couches that they’d moved out into the library - which they’ve converted into a makeshift living room for this time of the year - and making heart eyes at each other. Something in Dean’s chest twinges and he realizes that it’s jealousy. Not of either of them though, but of what they have. Since Lisa, he hasn’t been in a long term relationship with anyone and he misses that. He misses waking up with someone, coming home to a warm body and welcoming arms. Sam has always been there for him and Kevin usually waits here at the bunker when they leave on hunts, but it’s not the same. He wants a relationship, wants the safety and love that it provides. As a hunter, he knows that it’s almost impossible, that it can only hurt to hope, yet he still can’t help himself from wanting it.

 

“Dean?”

 

He jumps and whirls around to find Cas standing behind him with Mary’s cookbook in hand.

 

“You were going to teach me how to make this?” he asks.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I am. But man, we gotta get you a bell or something,” he says with a laugh. “You’re like a ninja.”

 

Cas looks at him with a mixture of confusion and happiness, letting out a small laugh of his own. Dean smiles and leads him to the counter where he’s laid out the ingredients he needs to make his mom’s homemade chili. He flips the book open to the page and Cas smiles when he sees Mary’s curly handwriting at the top that reads, ‘Dean’s favorite’.  

 

Everyone eventually floats in, drawn by the smell of food and when it’s done, he helps serve it to everyone. Garth and the others had eaten their own werewolf-friendly meal before they came, but each of them accept a small helping to be polite, not to mention that Garth actually looks eager to try it.

 

“Mom used to make this, you know,” he tells Sam.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, it was my favorite thing to eat when I was a kid. Shame you never got to have it,” he replies.

 

“Until now.”

 

“Yeah,” Dean says quietly, smiling. “Until now.”

 

They sit down at one of the long library tables and just before they dig in, Garth stands up, tapping on his glass with his stainless steel silverware.

 

“I’d like to make a toast!” he announces.

 

Dean fakes a groan, but secretly, he enjoys Garth’s little quirks.

 

“This is probably the biggest family reunion I’ve ever been to and I gotta say, it’s awesome. These two here,” he gestures to Sam and Dean, “they’re the best men I’ve ever known and without them, I don’t think I’d have met any of you guys.” a gesture to his pack, “So, thanks you two. You guys are the best. Now, this smells really good, so, let’s dig in.”

 

There’s a chorus of agreement and for a while, the only sound in the bunker is the clinking of silverware against dishes.

 

“Wow, this is really good,” Kevin says. A couple of Garth’s family hum in agreement around mouthfuls of chili.

 

“I can see why this was your favorite,” Sam adds.

 

“I’m just glad I didn’t screw it up,” Dean says.

 

“Give yourself some credit, Dean. You’re a great cook,” Cas tells him. The others all agree and Dean smiles, looking away almost bashfully.

 

There’s hardly any leftovers after the meal is done. Although that does mean that dessert has to wait a little bit as everyone nurses their full stomachs. Sam helps Dean clean up and wash the dishes, bantering back and forth as they do so. For some reason, Dean feels lighter here, in this moment. With his friends, all practically family, spending time with him, making dinner and cleaning up the kitchen, he can forget that he kills monsters for a living. Despite the fact that they live in a giant underground bunker specifically warded to keep out supernatural evil, he feels normal here, like any other average Joe celebrating Christmas with the family. The tree in the other room shines with multi-colored lights and everyone is in the library telling stories and catching up, the occasional guffaw of laughter rising up. For the first time, he’s genuinely happy and it seems that everyone else is too, the mood undeniably cheery.

 

Later that night, Dean decides it’s time for dessert. They get out the cookies and the pie that they made and everyone lines up to get a piece or take a few cookies. Once everyone has their plates full, he switches on the TV. Of course, with Christmas in a few days, almost every channel is doing some sort of holiday special. They all bicker over the best one to watch, with Jody and Alex arguing for _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ , Garth saying _Home Alone,_ but the rest of the pack are all shouting out different movie names, and Sam saying that they should watch _A Christmas Carol_. Charlie says that they could watch the majority of them on Netflix and that seems to placate everyone for the time being. With everyone crowded around the TV on the couches and chairs, they choose the first movie and Dean turns the lights off so the tree and the TV are the only things giving off light.

 

Garth and his wife are sitting on a couch together with a few others of his pack all crowded around them, either in chairs or sitting cross-legged on the floor. Charlie sits in Dorothy’s lap in one of the recliners and Jody and Alex sit next to each other in chairs they dragged out from one of the spare rooms. Sam, Dean, and Cas are all fitted onto the last couch, with Cas squished in between the two Winchesters. Sam’s legs stretch out for miles and one of his arms reclines along the back of the couch. Cas scoots a bit closer to Dean and the hunter thinks that he’s imagining things when fingers brush against his own. He looks down at Cas’ hand, which is pressed close to his and Dean looks at Cas a little nervously, but the fallen angel is engrossed by the movie. He thinks that maybe it was just an accident when Cas slowly moves his hand and laces their fingers together, smiling a little bit at the screen. Dean feels himself blushing, but in the darkness, he’s certain no one can tell. He squeezes Cas’ hand and then, thinking better of it, lets go in favor of wrapping an arm around him and tugging Cas closer, letting him rest his head on his shoulder like Garth and his wife are doing. No one notices, or if they do, they don’t say anything for which Dean is grateful.

 

Once the first movie has finished up, everyone takes the time for bathroom breaks and to get more food if they want. A few people disappear only to come back later carrying blankets and pillows, lying down on the floor when the next movie starts. Dean’s not sure when he falls asleep during _It’s a Wonderful Life_ , but when he wakes up, it’s quiet and the room is filled with everyone’s snoring. Someone’s cleaned up all the food, turned off the lights, and as he shifts, he realizes his arm has fallen asleep. He looks over to see that it must have moved when he fell asleep and now Cas is lying on it, cutting off his circulation. He carefully pulls his arm back and freezes when Cas mumbles in his sleep, grabbing Dean and moving closer. He holds back a laugh and presses a kiss into his hair before falling back asleep.

~~~~~

It’s dark in the bunker when he wakes up again, but he knows it’s morning. A few of the others are stirring and he can see light coming from the direction of the kitchen and smells coffee brewing. He sits up and carefully removes Cas’ arms from around him, but the ex-angel doesn’t wake up, instead curling up in a ball on the couch and snoring loudly. Dean finds it ridiculously adorable and he smiles at his friend before he pads into the kitchen where Sam and Kevin are talking quietly.

 

“Morning,” he mumbles, pouring himself a cup.

 

“Hey,” Kevin says with a yawn.

 

“So, have you looked under the tree yet?” Sam asks with a huge grin.

 

“What, you’re not gonna tell me Santa made a visit. We don’t even have a chimney,” Dean says with a chuckle.

 

“Doesn’t matter, there’s a bunch of gifts under it,” Kevin says. “The others must have put them there overnight.”

 

“No way,” Dean says, smiling as he goes to check. Just as they said, there are all sorts of presents all wrapped up under the tree like out of a Christmas movie. He can’t help the happiness that blooms in his chest and fills him with warmth. He glances at the others, all in different states of wakefulness and feels a rush of affection for all of them. He couldn’t ask for a better family.

 

“Merry Christmas, Dean.”

 

He turns around and is greeted by Garth, who hugs him before Dean can get two words out. He laughs and hugs his friend back, having gotten used to Garth’s hugs long ago.

 

“You too, buddy,” he replies.

 

Throughout the morning, there are the occasional exchanges of ‘Merry Christmas’ as everyone has their breakfast or their morning cup of coffee. Once everyone is awake and seated around the tree, they tear into the presents. There’s a small pile in front of him and he rips the wrapping paper eagerly. He gets a set of knives and a new flask for holy water, both gifts making him think how strange it is that these are normal for them all. But he’s glad for them and he sends thanks out to everyone who got him something. By the time he’s reached the bottom of the pile, there’s an assortment of new weapons and some clothes next to him. There’s only one present left to open. A small, plain box topped with a red bow. He lifts the lid and when he sees what’s inside, he lets out a soft gasp. He turns to look at Cas, who is in the midst of opening presents of his own, laughing as he opens a box containing a sock monkey hat from Charlie.

 

“Cas?” he says. His voice is quiet and almost drowned out by the others’ laughter and talking, but Cas hears him anyway. The fallen angel scoots over so he’s sitting next to Dean and stares down at the necklace in the hunter’s hand.

 

“Is this...is this what I think it is?” Dean asks, fingers tracing the glass vial, feeling warmth pulse under his fingertips. Cas smiles warmly at him and without him even saying anything, Dean knows that he’s holding Cas’ grace in his hands.

 

“But why?” he can’t help asking. Shouldn’t Cas be angel-ed up by now? Doesn’t he miss his powers? Dean has no idea why Cas would be giving such an important part of himself to him. Sam, he could understand, but Dean? He poisons everything he touches. Even now, he feels guilty just holding the necklace, the blue light swirling inside proof of how far Cas has stooped just for a tiny human like him.

 

“Stop it,” Cas says softly. “I can’t read minds anymore, but I can tell you’re beating yourself up.”

 

“Cas, I can’t take this. It’s too important. What if I break it?” _Like I do everything else_ , he adds silently.

 

Cas frowns and he closes Dean’s fingers around it with his own.

 

“You won’t. I trust you.”

 

Dean can’t stop himself from staring at Cas in something akin to awe. After everything they’ve been through, after everything he’s done and Cas still trusts him? And to this extent? His friend might not be an angel anymore, but he’s definitely a saint. He smiles, even if he’s still not entirely sure of himself. Cas may trust him, but Dean won’t make that mistake for one second.

 

“Thank you, Cas,” he says.

 

Cas only smiles at him and moves so he can clasp the necklace together behind Dean’s neck. The grace settles just above his heart and Dean can feel it humming with energy, almost like it’s alive. He supposes in some ways, it is. Dean turns around only to be faced with that same smile from before. Cas’ grace thuds against his skin and he wonders if it can somehow sense its owner’s emotions.

 

“Merry Christmas, Dean,” Cas says. And before Dean even realizes what’s going on, hands close around his own and Cas leans forward to give him a peck on the lips. Cas is blushing as he pulls away and Dean can feel the same warmth radiating from his grace, happy yet embarrassed at the same time. It makes the hunter chuckle and he leans forward to show him that there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

 

Cas’ lips are soft and for someone who hasn’t kissed very many people in his long, long life, he kisses back so sweetly it makes Dean’s heart ache. He reaches up without thinking to cradle Cas’ face in his hands, thumbs stroking over his cheekbones as he tilts the ex-angel’s head to deepen the kiss.

 

“Alright people, pay up.”

 

Dean pulls away to see Charlie smiling triumphantly, holding her hands out as the others sigh reluctantly and reach into their pockets. Money is exchanged and Dean watches, not sure what to think of this.

 

“Wait, were you guys...betting on us?!” he finally asks incredulously.

 

“Duh,” Charlie says. “And guess who won? That’s right. Me,” she points at herself, still wearing that grin, “I knew Christmas would be the day you two finally got together.”

 

“You’re unbelievable. All of you!” Dean exclaims with a laugh, unable to actually be upset by this.

 

“Well, it was kind of obvious you had a thing for Cas,” Garth pipes in.

 

“We all just disagreed on when you’d finally admit it,” Kevin adds.

 

Dean rolls his eyes at the lot of them and then turns to look at Cas, eyebrow raised as if to say ‘can you believe them?’ Cas just smiles and shrugs.

 

“Let them have their fun,” Cas says. “I’m just glad I have you.”

 

There’s a chorus of ‘aw’s from everyone, which just makes Dean blush and he hugs Cas to hide it. Cas’ chest rumbles in laughter and soon, Dean can’t help joining in, a weight finally lifting from his chest.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to wait until Christmas Eve/Christmas to post this. So here you go! 
> 
> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, whatever you may celebrate! :)


End file.
